Duo to present songs from the Great American Songbook
Soprano Tinky Weisblat and pianist Jerry Noble will present “What I Did for Love,” a program of romantic numbers from the Great American Songbook, on Wednesday, June 10 at 10:30 a.m. at the Federated Church on Route 2 in Charlemont. The pair will survey love in its various phases: longing for love, discovering love, love for friends, love gone awry and looking back at love. Some songs will be funny; some, sad.
The concert is free, hosted by the Charlemont-Hawley Senior Center and the Charlemont-Hawley Cultural Council. For further information, call 413-339-4747.
Poetry reading to be held at Mocha Maya’s June 11
“Poetry in Our Community” will host a Poetry Reading Series on Thursday, June 11 at 7 p.m. with Rebecca Hart Olander and Skyler Lambert at Mocha Maya’s, 47 Bridge St., in Shelburne Falls. An open mic will be held after. Open mic sign-up begins at 6:45 p.m.
The event, presented by Slate Roof Press with Lea Banks of Ashfield, is free. This program is funded in part by grants from the Ashfield, Buckland, Charlemont-Hawley and Shelburne Cultural Councils, supported by the Mass Cultural Council.
Talking Heads tribute band to perform at The Shea
The Shea Theater Arts Center in Turners Falls will present Talking Heads tribute band, Start Making Sense on Saturday, June 13 at 8 p.m. This all-ages show features a stripped-down, four-piece lineup performing early Talking Heads catalog favorites and deep cuts from the band’s first three albums. The venue features a wheelchair-accessible theater and restroom, and alcohol will be available on-site. Tickets are $20 in advance plus fees, or $28 at the door, and can be purchased at showclix.com/event/sms4-early-talkingheads.
On the Lam to take the stage in Turners Falls
The Americana band On The Lam will perform at the Great Falls Coffeehouse on Friday, June 12 at 7 p.m. held inside the historic Great Hall at the Great Falls Discovery Center in Turners Falls. The five-piece group features harmony-rich music spanning multiple decades and genres, covering artists from Gillian Welch to Tears for Fears. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for this wheelchair-accessible event, which features a suggested sliding scale donation of $7 to $20 with free admission for children. Refreshments will be available, and proceeds benefit the Friends of the Discovery Center to support free community programming.
Greenfield Garden Cinemas to screen film by Hampshire College alum
The Greenfield Garden Cinemas will screen the dark comedy “Our Hero, Balthazar” on June 7 at 6:30 p.m., featuring a post-film Q&A with co-writer and Easthampton native Ricky Camilleri.
Directed by Oscar Boyson and featuring a notable cast, the film explores American culture through the story of a teen traveling to Texas to befriend a potential school shooter.
“We love local filmmakers,” said Garden Co-Owner Isaac Mass, who lamented that the closing of Hampshire College is leaving “a real hole in the local film development community.” In addition to Camilleri, Hampshire College alums include Liev Schreiber, Lupita Nyong’o and Ken Burns.
Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum is open for the season
The historic Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum, located at 130 River Drive in Hadley, is open for the 2026 season. Known historically as “Forty Acres,” the 114-acre National Register Historic District sits on ancestral Nonotuck lands and houses seven generations of family artifacts. Guided seasonal tours are available Saturday through Wednesday from 1 to 4 p.m. with admission priced at $5 for adults and $1 for children.
The museum’s 2026 programming highlights local history, abolition and diverse musical traditions. To commemorate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, the museum is partnering with Amherst College’s Frost Library to host a satellite exhibit, “Forty Acres and the American Revolution: Stories of Independence and Servitude” until August.
The museum will also host two local Community Days featuring free admission and refreshments. The June 6 event serves residents of Amherst, Shutesbury, Leverett, Pelham and Hadley, while the June 13 event opens to residents of Northampton, Hatfield, Deerfield and Whately.
Smack Dab Queer Open Mic continues at The LAVA Center
The Smack Dab Queer Open Mic, hosted by Jules and Avery, continues its free 18 and up LGBTQIA community series at The LAVA Center, located at 324 Main St. in Greenfield. Operating under the slogan “All genders, all the time,” this five-minute limit open mic welcomes poets, musicians, comics and storytellers to celebrate queer joy and creativity. While the event typically takes place on the first Friday of each month, the upcoming June edition will instead be held on Sunday, June 7, with sign-ups starting at 6:30 p.m. and performances beginning at 7 p.m. For more information, interested participants can check the event page on Facebook or email smackdabqueeropenmic@gmail.com.
Also at The LAVA Center is the monthly Theatre of the Oppressed workshop, facilitated by Ash Goverman. Its final workshop in the current format will take place on Sunday, June 14, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. The workshop is based in the work of Augusto Boal, who developed Theatre of the Oppressed in Brazil inspired by Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Boal describes theater as “rehearsal for the revolution.” His method transforms the audience from passive spectators into “spect-actors,” empowered to explore solutions to oppressive personal, social and political problems through theater and improvisation.
Participants will use Boal’s games as a tool for power analysis. The free workshop will offer image theater and forum theater as methods for societal examination through our bodies, rather than cerebrally; in community, rather than in isolation. Theatre of the Oppressed is a connective tool for community engagement and embodied anti-perfectionism. Boal’s methods guide us to explore, analyze and ultimately transform our lived reality. For more information, email ash@thelavacenter.org.
Artist reception for Kate Marion Lapierre on June 7
From June 5 to June 28, Kate Marion Lapierre’s work will be on display at the Great Hall Art Exhibit of the Great Falls Discovery Center in Turners Falls. The exhibit, “Nature’s Colors,” emphasizes the colors and beauty of landscapes and flowers particularly during the spring and summer season. An artist reception will be held on June 7, from noon to 2 p.m. The free event is open to the public of all ages. For more information, visit mass.gov/locations/great-falls-discovery-center.
Nina Rossi to exhibit work at Shelburne Arts Co-op
An exhibition of work by mixed-media artist Nina Rossi will be featured at the Shelburne Arts Co-op through July 6. The show, “Shimmer,” features digital collages on aluminum embellished with glass rhinestones, and a handcrafted frame that extends the motif in the aluminum print collage to the edge, using a variety of materials such as wood, metal, paint and textiles. A reception with the artist will be held on Saturday, June 6 from 3 to 5 p.m.
The Co-op is located at 26 Bridge St. in Shelburne Falls, and is open every day from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
‘Chalk Walk’ among events for Turners Falls First Friday
Turners Falls First Friday will host its “Chalk Walk” community sidewalk drawing event on Avenue A on June 5, from 4:30 to 8 p.m., featuring a competition with prizes at Spinner Park. The monthly, business-led downtown festival runs from 4 to 9 p.m. and includes a mini chalk competition at Two Ghosts Vinyl Cafe, an all-ages music showcase at the Brick House, and a 1.2-mile guided “Brick-by-Brick” historical walking tour starting at the Great Falls Discovery Center. Additional June events feature a Pride Disco Party with DJ Just Joan at LOOT, live hits from the 1930s to the 1980s by Drew Paton at The Rendezvous, and the “Please Touch” participatory group art opening reception at Waterway Arts. Visit @firstfridayturnersfalls Facebook and Instagram accounts for the latest updates, or continue to follow RiverCulture.